Richmond Free Press
B2 April 7-9, 2016
Happenings NFL quarterback Russell Wilson gets hometown welcome By Joey Matthews
Seattle Seahawks All-Pro quarterback Russell Wilson scored a touchdown with a hometown crowd of 4,500 people at the Richmond Forum, where he was the special guest and speaker Saturday night at the Altria Theatre. Wearing his trademark million-dollar smile and accompanied by his stylish fiancée, Grammy Award-winning singer Ciara, Mr. Wilson talked about his youth and other life experiences as Harvard professor Henry Louis “Skip” Gates Jr. unveiled Mr. Wilson’s family and ancestral lineage for the program called “Roots of a Champion.” “To be here is really, really special,” Mr. Wilson, a former three-sport standout at Collegiate Schools in Henrico County, told the audience that responded with enthusiasm and delight. “Our city couldn’t ask for a better ambassador,” Charlie Agee, the Richmond Forum’s director of corporate citizenship whose son, Marshall, attended Collegiate with Mr. Wilson, said in his introductory remarks. Mr. Wilson, 27, was moved by the information presented by Dr. Gates, who is in his third season of hosting the popular PBS show “Finding Your Roots.” Their conversation at the Richmond Forum will air locally 9 p.m. Thursday, April 14, on WCVE-TV, channel 23, said Bill Chapman, executive director of the Richmond Forum. The two began by discussing Mr. Wilson’s childhood playing football, basketball and baseball on weekends in the backyard of his family’s Henrico County home with his older brother, Harry, and neighborhood friends. “If you hit the tennis ball over a neighbor’s house, it was a home run,” Mr. Wilson recollected, laughing. He recalled the games as being very “competitive.” And he said he is “grateful” that Collegiate required students to participate in at least two sports each year. He said his life today is guided by his deep Christian faith. His parents, he said, fueled his early spiritual growth by requiring him and his siblings to go to church every Sunday. He said his favorite Bible verse is Matthew 33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Mr. Wilson credited his parents with instilling in him the tenets of “commitment and dedication.” After high school, he earned a scholarship to North Carolina State University, where he excelled in football and baseball. He transferred to the University of Wisconsin in 2011 and led
James Haskins/Richmond Free Press
With a large screen illuminating their onstage presence Saturday, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson talks about growing up in Richmond with Harvard University professor Dr. Henry Louis “Skip” Gates Jr. at the Richmond Forum.
the Badgers to the Big 10 championship and a berth in the Rose Bowl. He said he chose to concentrate on football exclusively after the Seahawks drafted him in the third round in 2012. He called giving up his quest to play baseball professionally “one of the hardest decisions of my life.” Before he and Dr. Gates delved into the “Book of Life” and his ancestry, Mr. Wilson glowingly acknowledged Ciara, who accepted his marriage proposal in March, and a bevy of family members that included his mother, Tammy, his older brother and his younger sister, Anna, who will attend Stanford University on a basketball scholarship in the fall. He said he regretted that his father was not there. His father is the late Harrison B. Wilson III, a former Richmond attorney whose office once was located in the Imperial Building, home of the Richmond Free Press. He also was a former twosport college athlete who died in 2010 at 55 after a lengthy and difficult battle with diabetes. Mr. Wilson also praised his grandmother, Carolyn Wilson, and grandfather, Harrison B. Wilson Jr., who served as Norfolk State University’s second president from 1975 through 1997 and was a winning basketball coach at Jackson State University in Mississippi with a record of 340 wins and only 72 losses. As they discussed his family roots, Mr. Wilson was wide-eyed and repeatedly shook his head in wonderment as he learned of a heritage that
included enslaved and freed black people and white ancestors. “I knew it!” Mr. Wilson exulted at one point as he stood and shook his fist in delight to applause after Dr. Gates informed him his ancestors included King Henry II of England who was born in 1133; Charlemagne, king of the Franks, who was born in 782; and Saint Arnulf, the bishop of Metz, who was born in 582.
He also learned about his maternal grandfather, Alexander B. Jackson, a renowned painter and teacher who became the first full-time AfricanAmerican professor at Old Dominion University in 1967. He died in 1981. President Lyndon B. Johnson purchased some of his artwork. Mr. Wilson also learned that some of his perseverance could be traced to Charity Southgate, his paternal great-great-great-great-grandmother. She was born free to a white woman and black man and should have remained that way, according to the law at that time, but she later was enslaved, Dr. Gates said. She fought for her right to be free starting as an 18-year-old in 1824, but it took 23 years and two lawsuits before she and her family finally gained their freedom. Dr. Gates showed Mr. Wilson a pollbook from 1967 that showed that his maternal greatgreat-great-great-grandfather, Britton Turner, and his son, Washington, had registered to vote two years after the end of the Civil War. At the end of the forum, Mr. Wilson told the audience, “Some of our ancestors may have grown up as slaves. Some may have been slave owners. We forget we’re all human.” What it comes down to now, he said, is “really loving people.” “Sometimes, you have to forget what a person looks like, forget what a person believes in, forget what a person does have or does not have … You have to look deep inside and love.” After a brief pause, he laughed and added, “Because you’re probably connected” in some way.
YWCA hosts public series for Sexual Assault Awareness Month
The YWCA of Richmond is presenting several events as a part of its April recognition of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Three lunch discussions are scheduled. The first is “Responding to Survivors: The Importance of Language” from noon to 1 p.m. Thursday, April 7, at the YWCA of Richmond, 6 N. 5th St., Downtown. The second is “Start by Believing: Your Role as a Friend or Family Member” from noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday, April 12, at Virginia Commonwealth
TEDxRVA slated for April 8 at Carpenter Theatre
University’s Oliver Hall, Room 2124. The third is “Teaching Consent Early and Often” from noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday, April 19, at the Bon Air Library, 9103 Rattlesnake Road in Richmond. Other community events include: • Bystander intervention training before, during and after acts of violence, 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 12, at the Virginia League for Planned Parenthood, 201 N. Hamilton St., in the West End. • Screening and panel discussion of the film “The Hunting Ground,” 6 to 8:30 p.m., Thursday, April 14, at the Libbie Mill Library, 2100 Libbie Lake
East St. in Henrico County. The film focuses on college sexual assault. • Training sessions, “Stewards of Children Training,” at 2 or 5 p.m. Thursday, April 21, at the YWCA in partnership with Greater Richmond SCAN, Stop Child Abuse Now, on how to recognize, react to and prevent child sexual abuse. The events are free and open to the public. Registration is required. For details, registration and information on purchasing food, go to www.ywcarva. eventbrite.com. For more information, contact Ryan E. Morris at rmorris@ ywcarichmond.org.
The Weldon H. Smith Scholarship Foundation & The Xi Delta Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. PRESENT
The Celebration of Life Concert:
Virginia State University President Makola M. Abdullah, African dance scholar Dr. Elgie Gaynell Sherrod, special needs advocate Pam Mines, human rights advocate Jonathan Dau, musician Gull, and advocate Sheila Battle are among 20 presenters at the 4th Annual TEDxRVA 2016 event Friday, April 8, at the Carpenter Theatre at Dominion Arts Center, 600 E. Grace St., in Downtown. The theme for the event, which is to begin at 9 a.m. and conclude at 5 p.m., is “Artful.” Tickets are $50 and available at the Carpenter Theatre box office. TED, a nonprofit devoted to “Ideas Worth Spreading,” offers short talks on a variety of subjects to inspire people. The Richmond event is an independently organized affair licensed by TED. For more information: www. TEDxRVA.com or call the box office at (804) 592-3330.
The Sound of Gospel
Featuring the Artistry of:
The Celebration Male Chorus and The Richmond Boys Choir Sunday April 17, 2016 4:00 p.m. EBENEZER BAPTIST CHURCH 216 WEST LEIGH ST., RICHMOND, VA 23220
Tickets: $10 To puchase tickets, please contact Ryan Bell at 804-928-2135 or Jim Mason at 804-874-6384 You can also purchase tickets online at WWW.WELDONHSMITH.COM
BEGINS IN 2 WEEKS!
www.xdl1906.com
ent
Hosea Productions pres
April 19 – May 8
©Disney
Groups (10+): 804-592-3401
RICHMOND/ C M Y K 5.418”W X 10.5”
JA RULE u KID ‘N PLAY u DOUG E. FRESH ROB BASE u CHUBB ROCK u BIG DADDY KANE
MAY
Saturday
BroadwayInRichmond.com 800- 514 -3849
7th 2016
8PM \ Doors 7PM
601 E. Leigh Street | Richmond, VA On Sale March 18th
Tickets: sweetFrog Coliseum Box Office, online @ Ticketmaster.com, area Ticketmaster outlets or charge-by-phone @ 800-745-3000. Info 804-780-4970
91234 / QUARTER PAGE / RICHMOND FREE PRESS RUN DATE: THURSDAY, APRIL 7